Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 550
(upbeat music) - Hello everyone and welcome back into a fabulous new Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. We are excited to be welcoming back to amazing artists as well as their fabulous show. Today we've got the co-hosts and co-producers, Grant Bowen and Will Clegg, who are here to talk to us about the upcoming production of Awkward Teenage Years. It's happening in July 10th at Under St. Mark's and you can get your tickets and more information by visiting frigid.nyc. We love anything associated with the frigid in New York. They do wonderful stuff and this show is no exception. We were really excited to have them on last time. It's a fantastic show and now they're back with a great new iteration of it. So let's not waste any more time. Let's welcome back on our guest, Grant Will. Welcome back to Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. - Thanks for having us again, I'm glad to be back. - Yeah, happy to see you. - I'm so happy that you're here on the day of this recording. We haven't quite melted yet, but that's still to be seen. So hopefully we won't be too big puddles time for the show. But I'm excited about this. You've got another iteration of Awkward Teenage Years on July 10th. Grant, could you remind us about what this show is and is about, you know? - Sure, absolutely, yeah. So Awkward Teenage Years is a storytelling show that the title is pretty self-explanatory. Like all of every couple of months, we have a lineup of guest storytellers ready to share true personal stories from their middle school and high school years. And like we say in the show, it covers a wide array of topics, like first cars, school tests, school bullies, first dates, and ultimately all about coming of age. - That is so fun, so much fun. This is one of those shows that, when we got to talk last time, I was like, this is a show that everyone can relate to. Like, let's be real. We all kind of went around being like, did anybody else go through this? And it's one of those shows that, when you get to hear the people tell those stories, you're like, oh my God, I thought I was the only one. Will, I would love to know, what has it been like developing this particular iteration, including the guests, you know, that are coming down the pipeline? - Yeah, this particular show we're really excited about. We're having on one of our favorite storytellers, Ophira Eisenberg, who, if your audience is not familiar, she's a host of The Moth, and she has a podcast called Parenting is a Joke that's on iHeartRadio, and she was a longtime host of Ask Me Another on NPR. And she's just one of our favorite comedians and storytellers. We've had her on the show a couple of times before, and every time she comes on, it's just amazing. So, really excited to have her kind of headlining the show, and then we've got a bunch of people that have never been on the show before, too. Some of them, we haven't even met in person, just to have pitched us, you know, via Instagram or via email, and we've been really excited to have them come on, too. So, now that we do the show, like every two months, it's, I feel like we just build a lot more anticipation and excitement about each one, 'cause we were doing it monthly before, and it was like a real grind, you know? And so now, like, I feel like I get to get really excited in the build up to the show, and this one's no exception. We really have a great lineup of talent and funny and entertaining storytellers. - That is amazing, that is amazing. I wanna build on that and come back to you, Grant, 'cause I'd love to know, how is it that you all went about selecting the performances that are part of the upcoming production? - Yeah, like Will said, in the case of Ophira, it's someone we've had on before. You know, we love having repeat guests come back. If they've got a new story idea, they can show, 'cause I feel like everyone has a plethora of teen stories in terms of selecting other performances, or sometimes it's through recommendations from people who we've had on our show before, like, you know, who will work with a storyteller who's then like, oh, if you like, you know, you might also like this other guy that I know who's done some other storytelling shows, and I know they have a story that fits this. And then, in a lot of cases, you know, we have, we are actively seeking pitches through our email address. You email, like, the two or three sentence pitch of your story to awkwardteenajears@gmail.com. We are actively checking that, like, all the time for new storytellers that we can bring onto the show, and people will often send in, like, a recording of a story they've told before on another show, or they'll send in, like, two or three sentences of an idea they have, or, like, just an audio draft of them, like, talking into their phone in the voice memo app of what they're thinking of doing. And we usually try to gauge, it's like, do we think this is a good fit for the show? And if so, we reach out to them, and we're like, hey, would you like to be on the next one? - It's wonderful. I love that. Now, I do want to take this opportunity to mention, as you two let me know, there is a casting change, right? Will, can you just fill us in on that casting change real quick? - Yeah, so we have Ophira, as I mentioned, and we've got Natalie Wall, who's never been on the show before, Jonathan Bach, also a first-timer, Ali Levin, who's, we've never met in person even, and then we had one casting change, so now we're gonna have Ahmed Abdullah on the show, who is a recommendation from one of our guests from the last show. So, you know, really excited about all of these folks. Most of them we've never met, but we've been talking to over email and Instagram for a few months about their pitches, and we're really excited to work with them and present their stories to everybody on July 10th. - It's fantastic. So, well, let me snowball off of that, and I want to know what can audiences expect from the July 10th show? - Sure, I mean, they can expect, you know, a lot of laughs. I think, you know, we always, we don't really bill ourselves purely as a comedy show, but the story is just by their nature, tend to be, you know, of an embarrassing sort for most people, and so are often funny, but also really poignant. So, sometimes they can get really emotional and also funny in the same story or paragraph or even sentence, you know? So, it's a wide range of emotions, it's always very entertaining. We generally have a very warm inviting audience, so that even the storytellers, who sometimes have like never told a story live on stage before, feel very welcome, and then, of course, our more seasoned performers come in there and just kill it. So, yeah, I think, you know, a lot of laughs, a lot of feelings, and a good, fun hour or so of stories. - That sounds like such a great time. Perfect thing to do in the middle of the summer. Grant, is there a different message or thought you're hoping audiences take away from this evening? - That's an interesting question, because, you know, we generally, with storytelling in general, you know, I feel like you ask any different person to tell you a story from their high school years, you're gonna hear something you've never heard before, you're gonna hear, even if it's a similar story, you're gonna hear a perspective that you've never heard before, too. That's why we often try to aim for kind of having a very diverse lineup within each show. And so, we hope that people come in with open minds and open hearts to listen to this month's collection of storytellers and listen to their perspectives and, you know, walk away with kind of something new, something they haven't thought about before in terms of how it relates to their own lives. I've said this before with storytelling, the more specific you get about your own experience, the more you start hitting on universal truths about everybody's experience. So that's kind of the fun. Like every time you come to awkward teenage years, you might walk away with something different that you didn't anticipate. - It's so wonderful, how exciting, and a good lead into my final question for this first part, which is who do you hope have access to not only this show, but this particular production happening on July 10th? And Will, can I throw that your way? - Yeah, I mean, we do feel like it's a show really for everybody. I mean, everybody was a teenager once. I will say that sometimes actual teenagers come to the show, which, you know, it is an adult show. I feel like we should say, when I do see actual teenagers in the audience, I get a little nervous because I don't know exactly what our storytellers are going to say sometimes. - I'd love to know what they're getting from this. - Yeah, yeah, so it's certainly an adult theme show, you know, reflections on our teenage years, right? And I mean, some of the stories that I've told on there, I was like, I don't know if teenagers need to be here in this right now. But yeah, I mean, we do feel like it's a show for everyone. And we've been really excited actually that tickets that are selling through the TDF, the Theater Development Fund, have been kind of going like wildfire lately. And so we feel like that's great for us. And we encourage more people to buy tickets through there because just opens up the experience to a whole new audience that we don't necessarily reach in a different way, you know? So if you're out there and you see our tickets on TDF, you know, buy them up there a little cheaper on there and we'd love to have you. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Well, on the second part of our interview, of course we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a bit more. And we've had you both on before and I want to ask you to, you know, how is it you came into the performing arts? And Grant, can I start with you for some matter? - Yeah, I, you know, I came through, you know how when you're like a kid and sometimes your parents are just signing you up for random things just to figure you out or at least give you something to take. That's kind of how I came about it. When I was, I think about five, my parents signed me up for what at the time was called the Summerfest musical theater workshop back home in Birmingham, Alabama. Now they're called the Red Mountain Theater Company and they have their own youth workshop. But yeah, it was, this was like a two week day camp that, you know, your parents drop you off and pick you up at the end of the day of just various theater performing arts classes and everything. And that's kind of about where, you know, I had always, you know, even as like a very young kid, I like gravitated towards art, like music and movies and things like that. But then actually doing it, that's kind of when I started to get the bug, you know, and that kind of snowballed into community theater and church plays and school plays. And then finally, you're a senior in high school and it's like, oh, I think I want to pursue this as my major and do this for a living. I mean, they got me very early. They got me quite early and I'm happy to have been chasing it ever since. - That is so awesome. I love that, love that. Well, how about you? How did you come into this wonderful world? - Well, actually I tell a story about this on the show since it happened to me when I was a teenager, but I'll just give you an abbreviated version quickly. I was a soccer player growing up. That was my main sport that I'd like to play every available opportunity. And I got cut from my varsity soccer team in the 10th grade and I was pretty salty about it. Still played on the JV team and I was planning to, you know, try out again and, you know, play for the varsity team my junior year, but in between those soccer seasons, my English teacher was directing the school musical, which was Oklahoma that year. And she was struggling to get guys to audition for it. And so she kind of cornered me after class one day and asked me, you know, if I'd be interested in auditioning and I'm like singing and dancing, no, no, thank you. She's like, well, you know, there's like no guys trying out for it, so be a great way to meet girls 'cause you'd be one of the only guys there. I'm like, oh yeah, sure, I could try out for the play. So I auditioned and I was, you know, one of the only guys, so of course I got cast and I got cast in a pretty big role as Judd. And I was sort of half-heartedly into it, you know, for most of the rehearsal period, but we started doing like the dress rehearsals and then actually getting into the performances. Everything just changed. I was super into it, all of a sudden like the lights and the audience and the orchestra and all just like, brought something out of me that I didn't know was there. And from that very first performance, I was absolutely hooked. I did every play and musical that I could do for the rest of my high school career. And in college, I kind of moved more into filmmaking, which is still what I do today. And moved away from the theater a bit, I moved back into the world of live storytelling back in 2019, I guess, when I took a class at the Magnet Theater with Adam Wade, which is how I ended up getting connected to Grant and to the other person who co-founded this show with us, Anastasia. And we started awkward teenagers together in early 2020. - That is incredible. Well, now, well, that is actually a great lead into the second question to ask, which of course is what is your favorite theater member or in this case, what is another of your favorite theater members? - Okay, I got a, I was thinking about this one coming up and I do have kind of a crazy one that can only come up from like, the weird kind of professional theater background I've had. So at one point in 2013, I was touring with a children's show called Angelina Ballerina. If any of you out there have kids or are aware of Angelina Ballerina, you probably know what this is. But all the characters from mice I played Angelina's dad, we were touring like across the country for like two months in 2013. And around when we were in New Mexico, I got Tom Tylitis. So it was definitely a, the show must go on moment 'cause luckily it didn't affect my voice too much but it was very much like I had two very painful golf balls in the back of my throat. And so then I had to have a recovery period. And so there I am like laying low in a motel in the middle of the desert, thinking about the next time I have to go up and play a mouse again. And I just, it's this moment of like, am I like in an early Sam Shepard play or something where I'm just in this desert motel, feeling sick and thinking about being a mouse or something like this is the kind of, and I'm just like, you know what? I'm, I am having a pretty exciting life. This is my problem with the moment. - Oh my gosh, I love that. I mean, I don't love that you at Tom Tylitis at number one. Like the resilience in that. That is a fantastic story. Thank you so much for that. Well, what about you? What is another of your favorite theater memories? - Yeah, I was just thinking about that while Grant was speaking and a show that I was really, really obsessed with in high school was Jesus Christ Superstar. And I went to the National Thespian Society annual festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. When I was a junior, I guess, between junior and senior years and I saw it perform there for the first time by like a very celebrated high school group that was like better than most professional troops that you would ever see. And so then I bought the album and I listened to it in the car all the time. And like, I never got to actually be in the show, which, you know, I wish I'd had the opportunity but just never presented itself. But then in college, I was actually very good friends with somebody who most of your audience probably knows well now. Brandon Dixon, Brandon Victor Dixon, I guess he's called on Broadway. And years later, he got to be in the TV version, right, with John Legend. And so one of my favorite theater memories is actually just getting to watch my friend play Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar on broadcast TV. I've seen him in a bunch of shows, but that was my favorite performance of his by far. And even though I never got to be in it, like seeing him do that was definitely one of my core theater memories. - I love that. What a memory, wow. What a connection, that's incredible. Thank you both so much for those wonderful memories. Those were fabulous. Well, I was gonna wrap things up. I would love to know, do either of you have any other projects or productions coming on the pipeline that we might be able to plug for you? - Well, like I mentioned last time, I also produced shows for an organization called The Story Collider. Do you wanna find out more about that? And the upcoming shows, you can go to storycollider.org, find out more about that. So we're here to talk about awkward teenage years. So they're fine. Let's see. In terms of other things I've got working on, again, the last time I mentioned, I have a solo show called A Public Private Prayer. We, I've got some things in the works that will hopefully come to fruition in the fall. So if that works out, you will find out more about it on my social media. - Amazing, we will stay tuned. Well, anything for you? - Yeah, I'm still trying to get my solo show out there some more called Syncope that I did at the last, with a 2023 Frigid Festival. And I struck out on the lotteries with the fringes this summer, but, you know, I'm gonna keep applying. And hopefully, if not this year, then definitely next year, do some more performances of that. Maybe in New York, but definitely I would like to do it. Canada and some of the other US fringes as well. - Yes, it is a fabulous show listener as it really is. So when it comes to a sitting near you, you need to go check it out. It's really cool. And that's a perfect lead in then, so that we can keep tabs on all of you to my final question, which is if our listeners would like more information about awkward teenage years or about either of you, maybe they'd like to reach out to you, how can they do so? - Well, the best way to follow awkward teenage years is just definitely on Instagram. We're at awkward teenage years. We post, you know, graphics for our upcoming shows, photos from the shows and videos. And it's a good way to get in touch with us, too, if you wanna pitch us your story. But also email us if you're just interested in pitching us at awkward teenage years at gmail.com. We're on some of the other social media, but not very active. So I would say Instagram is definitely your best bet. To follow me personally, I'm on Instagram as well, my terrible username, which is underscore, willclag, underscore, or maybe easier as my website, which is just willclag.com. - And you can find me on Instagram @jgramboen. I'm also on Facebook and Letterbox as well, and which I know Letterbox is a weird one, but I'm gonna keep plugging it. (laughs) Also, if you want to see the backlog of our previous live shows that we've done, or awkward teenage years, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel. We've got just about every show we've done since we began in 2020 on there. So if you're still questioning, maybe is this show for me? Check out our YouTube channel and see for yourself. - Amazing. Grant, well, thank you both so much for taking the time to speak with me today. It's always wonderful to have you on the show, and I'm so glad you brought your show Awkward teenage years once again to us. So thank you so much for your time today. - Thank you, Andrew, great to be back. - Yeah, great to see you, thank you. - My guests today have been the amazing co-hosts and co-producers, Grant Bowen and Will Clegg, who joined us to talk about their show, Awkward Teenage Years, which latest edition of is happening on July 10th at Under St. Mark's. You can get your tickets more information by visiting frigid.nyc, and we also have some contact information for our guests, which will be posted in the episode to speak to you as well as the social media posts, and you will want to keep tabs on these two. They've got some great, great stuff in the works. There'll be some extra performances coming up. We will do our best to keep you posted about it. But for right now, you need to hurry and get your tickets. They're going fast, head to frigid.nyc, get those tickets for Awkward Teenage Years happening July 10th. So until next time, I'm Andrew Cortez, reminding you to turn off your cell phones, unwrap your candies, and keep talking about the theater. And Stage Whisper. Thank you. (upbeat music) If you like what you hear, please leave a five star review, like and subscribe. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at Stage WhisperPod. And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at Stage WhisperPod@gmail.com. And be sure to check out our website for all things Stage Whisper and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets, and more. Simply visit stagewhisperpod.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazzar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazzar and Billy Murray. You can also become a patron of our show by logging on to patreon.com/stagewhisperpod. There you will find all the information about our backstage pass as well as our tip jar. Thank you so much for your generosity. We could not do the show without you. ♪ I'm way more narrow ♪ ♪ Where I don't care ♪ ♪ Anywhere will you come ♪ ♪ Makes me there ♪